Tag Archives: spunky club

FO: new day (also, zucchini and chard).

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This is 150 yards of squishy, shiny, 2-ply made from 4 oz. of Spunky Club corriedale in the New Day colorway. The orange bits are my favorite part.

And here’s the zucchini ricotta galette I made for dinner last night. (I had company.) When Deb posted this recipe recently, I knew I had to make it. I think I’ve made every galette recipe she’s posted, and they’ve all been absolutely delicious!

I’m part of the way through plying the Pigeonroof Studios merino in the chard colorway, and I am absolutely loving the way the colors are combining. So pretty! In fact, pretty enough that I might put off the reading I must finish before my afternoon meeting to ply just a little bit more…

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pedaling/treadling.

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Yesterday I finished plying the Spunky Club corriedale in New Day. This stuff is hanging to dry, and should be all done by the time I get back from morning yoga today.

And this stuff — well, it just called to me yesterday. This is the first bobbin of Pigeonroof Studios Merino in the Chard colorway.

And this is the second bobbin. This stuff really did spin itself, and I am excited for the squishy 2-ply it will become.

Remember that huge skein of Eco-wool I had on the swift the other day? It is destined to become a Hemlock Ring blanket. Jodi of A Caffeinated Yarn and I are doing a mini-KAL, and already I’m convinced that this project is building my lace confidence. So nice to knit lace on size 10.5 needles! I recognize that this picture doesn’t necessarily reveal ANYTHING about the pattern, but I’m a bit further along now, at row 30. I am just about ready to transfer this to circulars, and then it will be both faster to knit on, and easier to conceptualize. I’ll snap more pictures.

And then there’s this guy. He didn’t do much of anything yesterday…except demonstrate that he really is long enough to take up the entire couch. That’s my dog!

FO: garland.

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This is 268 yards of dk-weight navajo-plied Hello Yarn targhee in garland. This isn’t the whole four ounces — more like 3.25, I think. I filled a bobbin, let it rest, and started plying, and I’m not sure if I’ll make another mini-skein just like this, or save the fraction of an ounce for an all-mixed-up leftovers skein. I love this, and I’m starting to feel like I’m getting the hang of navajo-plying! Hooray! (Also, I’m still getting to know my camera, and these definitely don’t do the skein justice.)

Look! A reorganized spinning corner! I walked by this desk on Monday — it was about two blocks from my house. And then I backed up, picked it up, and carried it home. It fits perfectly into this little nook between the door and the heater, and now there is more storage space and work space in my apartment.

This is Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club corriedale in the New Day colorway. When I finished the garland, I just had to get something else started on the wheel…and suddenly I had two bobbins of this stuff. Planning to sit down and ply right after I finishing posting!

Yesterday was farm share pick-up day, and I gathered a whole bag of flowers in the fields. I love being able to fill my apartment with flowers I’ve picked myself.

And I’m knitting something new! More on this project next time.

FO: seaman’s cap.

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fo seaman cap 1

This pattern was made for handspun. And for boys. This is a simple hat with a serious fold-over brim. What do you think about this particular hat for a (grown-up) boy? Are the reds too rosy and not enough burgundy? It was rainy and overcast yesterday, so these pictures were taken in less than ideal circumstances. Here’s a true-to-color picture (which also illuminates the challenges of taking a picture of the hat on your own head):

seaman dark fo 2

I made the large size, and it is roomy without being ridiculously too big on me. This might be terrific for not totally crushing my hair when I am running late, my hair is still damp, and I’m heading to campus for something that requires me to look nice. I guess what I’m saying is, this is a traditionally sized men’s hat, which is good to know.

seaman fo side 3

Details: Seaman’s Cap, by Brenda Zuk

Size: large

Needles: US 6 for ribbing, 7 for body of hat

Yarn: Spunky Eclectic Spunky Club dark bfl in Myrtle, 3-ply, light worsted.

Now that I have the kitchen scale, I should really be more precise about this, but my houseguest is still sleeping, and I need to turn the lights on to read the screen on my digital kitchen scale. I have a small ball of yarn leftover, maybe 30 yards or so? That would mean that the large size of this hat used up about 150 yards, give or take, which is perfect for single skeins of handspun.

It is possible that I will cast on another seaman’s cap very soon. Time to wake up my visitor and head to the farmer’s market!

last night, and the night before last.

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(I’ll not say which ni-i-ight.) A seaman friend of mine…

I can’t help it. Whenever I sit down to work on my handspun seaman’s cap, I hear Billy Bragg and Wilco singing “Walt Whitman’s Niece,” the first track on the first Mermaid Avenue album (the project sets Woody Guthrie’s words to music).

seaman's cap prog

Late (very late) last night, I finally finished the ribbing, and switched to size 7 needles to continue in stockinette.

Off to pour my first cup of coffee and prepare for the day!

jowly.

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Yep, that’s a word. In fact, it is the perfect word to describe this dog.

bohfloppylips furtherback

bohtwofloppylips1

Let’s look at that face from the other side, shall we?

boh2floppylips2

Boh is actually using his paws to support all those wrinkles on his face. Being jowly is tough. It’s a wonder he’s able to get through the day.

seaman's hat myrtle1

I started another handspun hat last night. This is the seaman’s cap, and I am using my first 3-ply handspun: dark bfl from the Spunky Club in the myrtle colorway.

seaman's hat myrtle2

I’m starting to think that it might be more accurate to name this month “hat-tober” over here at Chez Rooster…

bohfloppylip1

I have a busy day ahead of me, but Boh will likely be doing more of this.

yarn cakes.

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handspun yarn cakes

handspunyarncakes2

Last night I dumped all of my handspun out on the couch and tried to think about what each skein might want to be when it grows up. I’m realizing that I need to start thinking more strategically about my fiber acquisitions, because most of the things I want to knit require more than 1 4-oz skein of varying length/thickness. I also realized that I really love my handspun, and that it is incredibly fun and rewarding to knit with. I’d really like to try to keep a handspun project on the needles all the time.

syeshawl

To this end, last night I cast on Laura Chau’s simple yet effective shawl. I’m using my Spunky Club organic merino in the Twilight colorway, which I spun and plied on a spindle. I have 250 yards, which probably won’t be enough for a full shawl, so I plan to supplement with some worsted-ish leftovers from other projects in like colors.

syemacrco

It looks like it is going to be a rainy Saturday, which bodes well for both academic and knitterly productivity.

soul windows and sunset: skeins!

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soulwindows1

soulwindows2

soulwindows3

I am in LOVE. 426 yards of 3-ply, from 4 oz of 90/10 corriedale/nylon from the Spunky Club. LOVE.

This skein made me so excited that I just kept on spinning.

cvm, jacob, kate

Here’s that cvm, waiting to be plied, along with the resting jacob bobbins.

cvm plied

cvm plied…

cvm hanging

hanging to dry…

cvmskein1

cvmskein2

cvmskein3

and skeined.

188 yds of 2-ply, 12 wpi from 2 oz. of cvm from cosy in a colorway called sunset. The color is somewhere in between what you see above — so hard to capture such a rich orangey-red.

boh passed out

Boh is exhausted! (Though not from all that spinning. We took a nice long walk in the woods yesterday, and then went to meet friends at the d-o-g-p-a-r-k.)

Off to pour the coffee — and perhaps ply those jacob bobbins!

400+.

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soulwindowsplied

drying

Hooray! My math skills tell me that I have at least 400 yards of 3-ply here (426, to be precise). I’ll figure out wpi once the skein is dry, but I am thrilled! There should be plenty here for a pair of socks.

I gave this an extra long soak because of how energized it seemed. (Am I supposed to let my plyed yarn rest, too?) You can see that it is a little curly-q-ish down near the bottom of the hanging loop, indicating some overplying, but on the whole, I’m quite happy about this. I’m still looking for that balance between overspinning/underspinning and over/under plying. (And maybe I’ll be forever looking for it!)

Anyway, I was so excited about how this turned out that I just had to sit back down at the wheel, even though it was WAY past my bedtime.

cvm sunset

This is the first bobbin of 2 oz of CVM from cosy in a colorway named sunset. I just sat down and spun, without a plan. I am already seeing that my default spinning is getting thinner, and that I need to really think about what I’m doing to make a thicker, even yarn. I love the richness of these colors — the perfect antidote to a rather rainy summer?

bohispatient

This guy thinks so (or not). I looked up from plying/spinning several times yesterday to find Boh hinting that he might want more attention. We took an extra walk around the neighborhood last night, and we have plans for either a hike or a trip to the d-o-g-p-a-r-k today.

calendar

Also, it is getting to be that time! I realized that this is the last week of my calendar yesterday, and stopped by the campus store to pick up an 09-10 replacement. I love starting a new planner. (Yes, I am a big nerd.) Yesterday I copied pertinent pieces of the fall campus-wide schdule into my calendar and thought a bit about classes/plans for the coming semester, which felt good to me.

That’s enough school talk for a Friday. Have a great weekend!

dillweed/milkweed.

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pickles

Dillweed. (In the pickles. These are half-sours, from The Joy of Pickling.)

milkweed

Milkweed. (Shawl by Laura Chau.) I’m only 8 rows in, but I’ve decided that although I am way more comfortable with written directions, I’m going all-chart, all-the-time on this one.

I went back to the LYS having the sale yesterday to get a smaller hiyahiya needle for my vanilla socks. Either I didn’t get the right size earlier in the week, or my gauge loosened up a bit in the switch from 2 circs to 1. While working hard to ignore all of the yarn on sale, I decided to treat myself to an addi lace needle for the milkweed shawl, and already I’m glad I did. (My size 4 knitpicks harmony tips are otherwise occupied at the moment, and I knew I wanted sharp needles for this project.)

vanilla emerald

I didn’t spend a super long time knitting yesterday, but I made serious progress on this sock — I think the hiyahiya is growing on me, and while I’m not sure how well these needles would work for more complicated socks (duller tips and not a lot of give on the needle because the cable is exactly the right size for the stitch count, rather than a bit smaller), these may become my go-to stockinette sock needles. Also, they are QUIET. No clicking, clacking, or fiddling.

gussetheel closeup

Also, (drumroll) my first true gusset heel! I worked the heel turn on 2 dpns and then went back to the hiyahiya. Have I mentioned yet how fantastic Socks From the Toe Up is (today)? No? I continue to recommend checking it out.

One more:

soulwindowsplying

Consider this a plying teaser. I plied for a few hours yesterday, and there is still quite a bit of yarn left on the bobbins, which I am taking as a very good sign in the yardage department. Still aiming/hoping/wishing for sock weight and yardage! Stay tuned…